In this way, at least in front of others, it was Princess Ta Na who invited Qin Yining. Li Qitian only spoke for her because he doted on Princess Ta Na. It wasn't that he, as the Emperor, wanted to hold the family members of his subjects hostage in the palace.
Everyone present was smart. Other than bowing and asking to leave, no one said anything else.
Consort Yi also mixed in with the other concubines. She bowed and left.
She was very nervous. She felt that today's matter was too smooth, too much in line with her expectations. Things had reached this point, but Your Majesty didn't investigate carefully, let alone find her and punish her.
Consort Yi let out a long sigh. Her hanging heart could finally settle down.
As long as she didn't find her face to face, she believed that the Empress Dowager would protect her in the future. No matter what, she was still the Empress Dowager's niece. Even if she was a thousand times bad, the Empress Dowager wouldn't allow a flaw in her family's conduct. She would definitely protect her.
At most, she would secretly curse her a few times.
Consort Yi thought optimistically.
In Ci 'an Palace, everyone had already left. Only Li Helan wanted to stay and talk with the Empress Dowager.
Li Qitian also spoke first: "Lan 'er should also leave first."
Li Helan felt that something was wrong. She wanted to act spoiled and shamelessly pester him to stay. But when she met Li Qitian's gaze, she immediately swallowed her words. The Imperial Brother in front of her was no longer the Imperial Brother who was obedient to her and treated her like a treasure.
Li Helan bowed and said: "Yes." She looked worriedly at the Empress Dowager and quickly walked out. She also ordered people to guard the door and not allow anyone to disturb or come close.
"Everyone has left." Li Qitian looked at the Empress Dowager with a smile, but there was a hint of viciousness in his smile: "Imperial Mother, now that there are no outsiders, can you talk to zhen?"
The Empress Dowager's smile was a bit forced. It was obvious that she was guilty: "What does the Emperor want aijia to say? Aijia doesn't understand. "
"Don't understand?" Li Qitian raised the corner of her mouth and smiled mockingly. "Does Imperial Mother take everyone for fools? Do you really think that today's matter has been covered up so well that no one would be able to tell that you're the culprit? "
The Empress Dowager's face instantly turned pale.
He knew! He actually knew!
"Emperor, please listen to my explanation." The Empress Dowager anxiously grabbed Li Qitian's hand and said, "Hao 'er is my grandson. How could I harm him? I have no intention of harming Brother Hao at all! "
Li Qitian smiled and nodded. "We believe that. Otherwise, Yu Pin wouldn't have appeared there. But the 'Dream of Death' in the bird's nest … Mother, what you prepared was arsenic, right? "
The Empress Dowager nodded, her heart beating rapidly. She already understood that Imperial Concubine Yi would not be able to be saved.
"Emperor, this matter was due to Aijia's lack of planning. I didn't expect Imperial Concubine Yi to have such thoughts."
"If you didn't think of it, you wouldn't have arranged for Imperial Concubine Yu. You also don't trust her. "
Li Qitian coldly stood up and said: "Zhen knows that Imperial Mother is doing this for the sake of the family's face and glory. Seeing that you are zhen's birth mother, zhen will not reveal this matter. This black pot and this joke will be carried by zhen. However, Imperial Concubine Yi cannot continue to be kept. "
"Emperor, Imperial Concubine Yi has served you for a while. Although that child's heart was muddled for a moment, she isn't someone who would deliberately do evil …"
"If she didn't intend to do evil, then she would poison my son. Moreover, she used a poison like Dream of Death that has no hope of being cured. If she intended to do evil, wouldn't she also poison me to death? We won't allow the person sleeping next to me to have such a vicious heart! "
Li Qitian suddenly looked back at the Empress Dowager. "Imperial Mother can't bear to part with her? Could it be that you can bear to part with your son and grandson? "
"No, no …"
Li Qitian suddenly moved closer to the Empress Dowager and bluntly said, "Imperial Mother is attached to power and has always been at odds with the Empress. She is at a good age and doesn't want to live a peaceful life. We can turn a blind eye to all of this. Who told you to be our Imperial Mother?"
"But Imperial Mother's heart is getting bigger and bigger. You want to cultivate your relatives and even want to use a woman to control our harem. Could it be that in Imperial Mother's eyes, we are that kind of soft-hearted weakling?"
"Emperor, don't misunderstand. I don't think so."
"No? Who was the one behind the coup in the palace? We were buried in the underground palace. What did Imperial Mother do? The real Empress was pregnant and locked up in the palace by Prince Li. Has Imperial Mother ever thought that the child she is carrying is our flesh and blood, your grandson? "
With every sentence Li Qitian said, the Empress Dowager's face became more miserable. After a series of words, the Empress Dowager's face became pale and limp in her chair.
Li Qitian stood up and said with an expressionless face: "Us not pursuing this matter is already benevolent. Imperial Mother, you can deal with it yourself. If you don't deal with it well, we will deal with it personally. "
The Empress Dowager repeatedly shook her head. Looking at Li Qitian, this was the first time she felt such fear and unfamiliarity. This was even more frightening than the coup in the palace!
Li Qitian didn't look back as he strode out of Ci 'an Palace.
The Empress Dowager sat in her seat in a daze. Her mind was blank. She didn't even know what she was thinking or what she should be thinking.
She suddenly remembered before Li Qitian participated in the great enterprise. At that time, her husband was still alive. Although their family wasn't very rich, they still lived happily together. They could be happy to have new clothes made for the New Year and be excited to eat roasted chicken.
Now, she was wearing silk and satin and eating delicious food, but she could no longer find that feeling of happiness and excitement. She also didn't have the warmth of being together as a family.
They used to be a close family, but when it came to power, they were suspicious of each other and alienated from each other. Her own son had actually become like this!
The Empress Dowager's tears suddenly fell like rain.
After crying for a long time, the Empress Dowager suddenly wiped her face.
"Someone come!"
The mama who had been waiting outside the door heard this and quickly came in. She bowed and said, "Empress Dowager."
"Come here."
The tears on the Empress Dowager's face had not dried, but her eyes became determined. She whispered a few words in the mama's ear.
A trace of shock flashed across the mama's face. Then her expression became more and more serious. In the end, she responded in a low voice and quickly retreated.
%
When Qin Yining returned to Chuxiu Palace, he immediately ordered people to prepare a hot bath.
She tiredly soaked in the hot water, her arms resting on the edge of the wooden tub. She raised her head to let Bing Tang wash her hair.
Ji Yun used a wooden spoon to scoop up the warm water with rose petals floating on it and sprinkled it on her long hair. Looking at her collarbone and thin arms, she said in a choked voice, "Wang Fei, you have suffered."
Qin Yining smiled and maintained his previous posture. He said in a low voice, "You said that the eunuch whispered a few words in Your Majesty's ear, and Your Majesty changed his mind. What did he say? Is there any news from the south? "
Ji Yun shook her head, "Maybe."
Bing Tang said, "This servant thinks that it must be. If Your Majesty did not have something to worry about, today … … It must be that Wang Ye did something that forced Your Majesty to change his mind. "
Qin Yining smiled again and said, "I think so too."
However, they were now trapped in the palace. Even after such a big thing happened, Li Qitian did not give up on the idea of keeping her in the palace as a hostage. He made her completely cut off from the outside world, so she did not know anything.
"That's right, keep an eye on whether Jiang Yuan is still in the imperial study. Of course, don't take the initiative to inquire about it, so as to avoid being discovered. After all, the Palace of Heavenly Purity's fire is such a big matter, Your Majesty must have ordered people to investigate it. It's best not to give yourself away. "
"Yes, this servant understands."
Qin Yining nodded, "Remember, don't purposely inquire about it. Just keep an eye on it."
"Yes."
Bing Tang and Ji Yun actually had the same suspicions as Qin Yining. The timing of the Palace of Heavenly Purity's fire was too coincidental. If Your Majesty had not changed his mind at the last minute and pulled Imperial Concubine Yu to take the blame, Qin Yining would have been convicted long ago.
When the Palace of Heavenly Purity caught fire, the palace was in chaos, and there were rumors of bandits or rebels killing people in the palace. The frightened palace servants were fleeing in all directions. In fact, it was the best time to take advantage of the chaos to escape. They all suspected that Jiang Yuan, in order to save Qin Yining's life, thought that Qin Yining would definitely be severely punished by Your Majesty, so he set the fire to attract everyone's attention and give Qin Yining a chance to escape.
Just as they were thinking this, a palace maid suddenly ran through the corridor outside while shouting, "Not good, not good! Imperial Concubine Shun! "
The three people looked at each other. Qin Yining hurriedly got up and asked Bing Tang to bring her clothes. Ji Yun quickly walked to the door and leaned against it to listen to the movements outside.
Princess Ta Na was eating fruit in the hall when she was startled by the sudden shout. She angrily said, "What are you shouting about? Someone died!"
"Replying to Imperial Concubine Shun, someone did die. This servant just heard that Imperial Concubine Yi's heart palpitations flared up and she died of illness!"
"What? Wasn't she fine in Ci 'an Palace just now? " Princess Ta Na was shocked. She couldn't understand how a perfectly fine person could suddenly die of illness. She didn't usually notice that Imperial Concubine Yi had heart problems.
Ji Yun turned around and looked at Qin Yining and Bing Tang who had also heard this.
The three people returned to the inner room. Qin Yining then said, "She was just a chess piece. In the end, the Empress Dowager needed a scapegoat and didn't want this matter to implicate her maternal family. Naturally, she could only 'die of illness'."
"Wang Fei, you're saying that she might have been …"
"It must be."
Qin Yining put on a thick robe and a dark green jacket. She had Bing Tang help her dry her hair.
At this time, there was a sudden sound of footsteps outside. Then she heard a familiar voice, "Is Imperial Concubine Prince Zhongshun here?"
"It's Sun momo, the Empress's personal servant." Qin Yining quickly said, "Quickly invite her in."
Ji Yun quickly opened the hall door and politely invited her in.
Sun momo's face was filled with anxiety. When she saw Qin Yining, she didn't have time to bow and immediately said, "Wang Fei, something happened in your family."
Bing Tang's hand that was holding the wooden comb stopped. Qin Yining also looked up and looked at Sun momo with watery eyes.
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